For Providers

Grace's Story

Published On 08/11/2014

After six years of ongoing seizures, 17-year-old Grace Hugueley’s parents were afraid to leave her home alone. As doctors tried to control Grace’s generalized tonic-clonic seizures, her parents tracked her food consumption and activities. In all, they tried multiple seizure medications, cut caffeine from her diet and tried hormone regulation.

Grace was frustrated. “We couldn’t figure out what the common denominator was. At one point, I went three months without a seizure, and I was thinking, ‘Gosh, we finally figured it out.’ And then one hit me. That’s what frustrated me the most, I thought we figured it out and then we didn’t,” she said.

Grace and her parents sat down to talk about the last best option – surgery. The teen was ready, but she had some questions for her neurologist and neurosurgeon. Would she still be the girl who loves to curl up in her dad’s lap? Would she be able to play the piano again?

Noninvasive brain mapping technology at Le Bonheur gave her medical team the confidence that Grace would be the same girl, just without the seizures.